Korean Webfoot Octopus Tofu Stew
Quick answer
Jjukkumi dubu jjigae is a Korean stew of webfoot octopus and soft tofu cooked in a gochugaru-seasoned anchovy broth.
What makes this special
- Jjukkumi dubu jjigae holds the bouncy texture of webfoot octopus and soft tofu in a clean, spicy anchovy broth refined with rice wine.
- Webfoot octopus cooked just 3-4 minutes to keep it springy
- Rice wine eliminates fishy notes in the anchovy broth
Key ingredients
Core cooking flow
- 1 Thoroughly remove the innards from 450 grams of webfoot octopus, then rub th...
- 2 Slice 300 grams of tofu into two centimeter cubes, then cut 150 grams of zuc...
- 3 Pour 850 milliliters of anchovy broth into a pot and add two tablespoons of...
Jjukkumi dubu jjigae is a Korean stew of webfoot octopus and soft tofu cooked in a gochugaru-seasoned anchovy broth. A full 450 grams of jjukkumi goes into the pot, providing a bouncy, chewy texture in every spoonful. The tofu absorbs the spicy broth as it cooks, creating a soft counterpoint to the firm octopus, and the contrast between the two textures is a central part of the dish. Rice wine added early in the cooking process neutralizes any fishiness from the seafood, keeping the broth clean-tasting rather than pungent. Soup soy sauce deepens the umami base without darkening the broth too heavily, and gochugaru provides the heat. Zucchini and onion contribute natural sweetness that rounds out the broth and prevents the salt from the seafood from feeling sharp or one-dimensional. Jjukkumi becomes rubbery if overcooked, so removing the pot from heat three to four minutes after it comes back to a boil is the key step for keeping the octopus tender and springy rather than tough.
Instructions
Read the steps as a cooking flow: prep, heat, seasoning, doneness control, and finish.
- 1Season
Thoroughly remove the innards from 450 grams of webfoot octopus, then rub the tentacles vigorously with coarse salt to remove slime and rinse under cold water before draining completely in a colander.
- 2Prep
Slice 300 grams of tofu into two centimeter cubes, then cut 150 grams of zucchini and 120 grams of onion into large bite-sized chunks to ensure they provide a substantial texture in the stew.
- 3Season
Pour 850 milliliters of anchovy broth into a pot and add two tablespoons of gochugaru, one tablespoon of minced garlic, and one tablespoon of soup soy sauce, boiling vigorously for five minutes.
- 4Control
Add the prepared onion and zucchini to the spicy broth first, simmering for about six minutes over medium heat until the vegetables soften and release their natural sweetness into the soup base.
- 5Heat
Add the octopus and one tablespoon of rice wine to remove odors.
Once the octopus curls, add tofu and cook for only three to four minutes total to prevent the seafood from turning tough.
- 6Step
Turn off the heat and let the stew rest for two minutes with the lid closed to allow the flavors to penetrate the tofu deeply before serving the chewy octopus and soft tofu.
After the steps
Pick a recipe that fits this dish.
Continue with shared ingredients, meal pairings, or a similar method.
Recipes That Go Well With This
More Stews →Based on shared ingredients and meal pairing
Korean Oyster & Crown Daisy Stew
Gul ssukgat jjigae is a Korean stew that combines oysters with crown daisy, a leafy herb that brings a distinctive bitter-herbal character rarely found in other stews. The oysters, approximately 220 grams, provide the foundational savory base of the broth, releasing their briny, oceanic juices as they heat through. Crown daisy contributes an aromatic quality that is simultaneously bitter and clean, and that fragrance is volatile enough to disappear entirely with extended cooking, so it must be added at the very end, just before the heat is turned off. Korean radish and firm tofu are added midway through cooking to add body and substance to the stew without muddying the clean flavor of the broth. Soup soy sauce seasons the liquid while keeping the broth a clear, pale color rather than the darker tones that regular soy sauce would introduce. The combination of briny shellfish and herbal greens is a traditional Korean pairing, one that appears most often in home cooking rather than in restaurant settings. The result is a stew with a distinct identity - lighter than kimchi jjigae, more aromatic than doenjang jjigae - that works well as a standalone bowl with a bowl of rice.
Korean Pork Kimchi Stew (Fermented Kimchi & Pork Shoulder)
This traditional Korean stew is prepared by simmering aged kimchi and pork shoulder to create a rich and savory broth. The marbled fat from the pork shoulder balances the sharp acidity of the fermented kimchi, producing a deep umami flavor. The cooking begins by stir-frying the pork and kimchi for three minutes to mellow the sour notes. Next, chili flakes, minced garlic, and soup soy sauce are incorporated briefly, followed by water and sliced onions. Simmering the stew for fifteen minutes softens the pork and allows the flavors to meld. Adding a small amount of kimchi brine during this process enhances the fermented depth of the broth. The dish is finished by layering thick slices of tofu and chopped green onions on top, simmering until they are heated through. It is served hot, typically alongside a bowl of steamed rice.
Korean Soy Pulp Porridge (High-Protein Okara Anchovy Stock Porridge)
Soy pulp (okara) and soaked rice simmer together in anchovy stock, creating a thick, protein-rich porridge with a hearty body. Onion and garlic are first sauteed in sesame oil to build an aromatic base, then the rice goes in for a brief toast before the stock is added. Once the rice is half-cooked, soy pulp and diced zucchini join the pot, and constant stirring over low heat is essential since okara scorches quickly if left unattended. Seasoned with just salt and black pepper, this juk has a nutty, beany depth from the soy pulp paired with the clean umami of anchovy stock, making it filling yet light on the palate. Making the okara at home by blending soaked soybeans in a blender yields a noticeably fresher, more pronounced soy aroma than the packaged version and elevates the overall flavor of the finished porridge.
Korean Gul Dubu Jjigae (Oyster Tofu Stew)
Gul dubu jjigae pairs 180 grams of fresh oysters with generous cubes of firm tofu in a clean anchovy-kelp stock. The oysters release their briny, mineral-rich juices the moment they hit the simmering broth, giving the soup an immediate oceanic depth that no other seafood replicates in quite the same way. Korean radish adds mild sweetness and keeps the stock clear rather than murky, while gochugaru and a whole Cheongyang chili suppress any fishiness and build a persistent background heat. The 300 grams of tofu make this a genuinely filling stew rather than a light soup course. Timing the oysters correctly is the most important step: added just before the pot returns to a boil, they need only thirty seconds to one minute before they are cooked through. Leaving them longer shrinks them and toughens their texture. Rinsing the oysters gently in lightly salted water before cooking removes sand and impurities without stripping their natural fragrance. This is a distinctly seasonal stew, best made in winter when the cold-water oysters are plump, briny, and at full flavor.
Serve with this
Korean Stir-fried Bottle Gourd Namul
Bottle gourd - bak - is a summer vegetable Koreans have stir-fried as namul for centuries. Peeled, seeded, and sliced thin, it is salted briefly to draw out excess moisture before cooking. Garlic and green onion go into the pan first to build a fragrant base, then the gourd is added and cooked with a small splash of water that steams the slices until they turn nearly translucent, releasing a clean, melon-like sweetness. Ground perilla seed stirred in at the end thickens the remaining liquid into a nutty glaze that clings to each piece. The result is a mild, lightly savory namul that makes plain rice disappear on the hottest summer days.
Korean Wild Chive Pickle (Spring Chive Soy Brine)
Dallae jangajji is a seasonal Korean pickle made by submerging spring wild chives in a brine of soy sauce, vinegar, and sugar alongside sliced Cheongyang chili and sesame seeds. Cleaning the soil from the bulb-like roots and cutting the chives to five-centimeter lengths prepares the main ingredient; the brine must then be cooled fully before pouring, because residual heat drives off the chives' volatile, peppery aroma rapidly. Pouring while still hot can strip much of the sharp fragrance in seconds. After one day of refrigeration the pickle is ready to eat, but by day three the brine penetrates the stalks fully and the flavor deepens. Served alongside grilled meat, the sharp garlicky bite of the chives and the tangy acidity of the brine cut through the fat cleanly -- a pairing that makes this a prized springtime side dish.
Korean Chive Clam Jeon (Garlic Chive and Clam Seafood Pancake)
Buchu-bajirak-jeon is a seafood pancake of garlic chives and clam meat, pan-fried in a batter made with a mix of all-purpose pancake flour and rice flour. The rice flour addition increases the chew and gives the finished jeon a slightly more resilient texture than plain flour batters. Clam meat releases a briny, oceanic liquid as it cooks that seeps into the batter and flavors it throughout, while the chives add a sharp, grassy counterpoint. Minced garlic and diagonally sliced cheongyang chili worked into the batter suppress any fishiness and build a layered fragrance. A generous amount of oil in the pan over medium heat produces edges that crisp and brown like the outside of a fritter. Waiting until the bottom is fully set before flipping prevents the pancake from tearing. Served with soy dipping sauce or a seasoned soy mixture, the clean salinity of the clams comes through clearly.
Similar recipes
Korean Galchi Kimchi Jjigae (Hairtail Kimchi Stew)
Galchi kimchi jjigae is a Korean stew that pairs hairtail fish with deeply fermented aged kimchi, simmered together in a base of anchovy and dried kelp stock. The richness of hairtail - an oily, full-flavored white fish - works in counterpoint to the sharp, acidic punch of well-aged kimchi, and as the two cook together their flavors blur into something more complex than either ingredient alone. Korean radish and onion go into the pot first, their natural sweetness dissolving into the broth to form a mild, rounded base before the fish is added. The hairtail is laid in gently and cooked covered to preserve the flesh, which would fall apart if stirred. Gochugaru and soup soy sauce season the broth with spice and salt, while the fish releases its own deep umami gradually, enriching every spoonful of liquid. Pouring the stew over a bowl of rice is one of the most common ways to eat it - the broth soaks into the grains and pulls every element of the dish together. It is particularly well-suited to cold-weather cooking, when a hot, assertive broth is exactly what is needed.
Korean Grilled Webfoot Octopus
Cleaned webfoot octopus is tossed in a marinade of gochujang, chili flakes, soy sauce, and sugar for ten minutes, then seared on high heat for just three to four minutes. Webfoot octopus has thicker tentacles than nakji and a more resilient chew, which makes it particularly well suited to this type of spicy, high-heat preparation. The short cooking time is not a shortcut -- it is the point. Overcooking webfoot octopus makes it rubbery and dry, and the difference between three minutes and five minutes is the difference between tender-chewy and tough. High heat is equally important: the goal is to sear, not steam, so the pan must be very hot and the pieces should not be crowded. Where the glaze catches on the pan surface and scorches slightly, it leaves behind charred bits that coat the octopus with a smoky depth the marinade alone cannot provide. Green onion added in the final seconds cuts through the heat with a sharp, fresh note. Just before the main harvest season in spring, webfoot octopus carries roe that adds a rich, creamy nuttiness to each bite, and this is when Korean cooks consider the ingredient at its peak. The cooked pieces wrap well in perilla leaves and are also popular as a fried rice finisher.
Korean Spicy Baby Octopus Fried Rice
Jjukkumi bokkeumbap is a spicy fried rice built around webfoot octopus, where every element of the technique exists to preserve the squid's signature springy chew. The octopus is first rubbed with salt to strip off the surface slime, then cut to bite-size and seared over high heat for no more than three minutes. The gochujang-based sauce, bolstered with chili flakes, soy sauce, sugar, and garlic, concentrates spice and umami before the rice enters the pan and soaks up the red seasoning grain by grain. A drizzle of sesame oil at the end adds a nutty fragrance that lifts the dish slightly, and melted cheese is a popular addition for softening the heat without dulling the flavor. The oceanic character of the octopus - its brininess and elasticity - gives this fried rice a depth that ground pork or vegetables simply do not replicate. Not overcooking the octopus is the single most important decision in the recipe.